Total pages in book: 194
Estimated words: 187754 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 939(@200wpm)___ 751(@250wpm)___ 626(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 187754 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 939(@200wpm)___ 751(@250wpm)___ 626(@300wpm)
“No.”
“Khalil?”
“Definitely not.”
Sighing, I rest my forehead against hers. “I don’t understand, Sunshine. Help me. Please.”
“Seth…” I lift my head, and Aurelia chews on her bottom lip while she looks up at me curiously. “How old was Zeke when you woke up for the first time?”
“Twenty-two.”
“And you’ve never had a girlfriend?”
“No.”
“Have you ever kissed a girl?”
I frown as I shake my head. “No, I…I guess not.” Is that why she doesn’t like me? Because I don’t have experience? Ezekiel does. Maybe I could ask Thorin or Khalil. It would be humiliating, but for Sunshine—
“So you’re a virgin?”
I drop my head and nod reluctantly. “Yeah.”
“Seth.”
I shake my head because I can’t look her in the eye now that she knows, but Aurelia doesn’t give up easily. She rises onto her toes, wrapping her arms around my neck, and she presses her sweet lips to my cheek over and over.
“Kiss me,” she urges when I just stand there like a dope.
“Really?”
“Kiss me, Seth. It’s okay.”
She’s barely finished the sentence before I press my lips against hers with a groan. The kiss starts off chaotic and uncoordinated, a dance of two people learning each other’s rhythms. But it doesn’t take us long to create our own.
“Like this, Sunshine?” I ask against her lips.
“Mm-hmm, yeah.” Aurelia moans and presses herself hard against me. “Just like that, Seth.”
Her lips are so soft. She’s so soft.
I like kissing. But only with Sunshine. She’s the only girl I want to share all my kisses with. I know it the moment we come up for air, and she has this sparkle in her eye as she smiles at me. I can’t see ever wanting this with anyone else. I may have to kiss her all the time. What a bummer.
“Okay, Seth.” Aurelia breathes heavily. “I’ll be your girlfriend on one condition.”
“Yeah?” I hold her closer. Now that I have her. I can’t let her go. “What’s that? I’ll do anything.”
We both jump like we were caught with our hand in the cookie jar when we hear Thorin’s bedroom door slam closed. He must be done washing the egg out of his hair.
His heavy footsteps are heading this way, so Aurelia says quickly and quietly, “Don’t let them hurt me.”
She turns away from me just as Thorin enters the kitchen.
Khalil is right behind him.
They’re both dressed in their snow suits so we can spend another pointless day looking for our girl when we’ve got her right where we want her. Well, almost.
“Tell me you at least forgive me for last night,” I demand. I can feel Thorin and Khalil watching us, but I pay them no mind as I turn Aurelia back around to face me. “I don’t want to hurt you. I like you, Sunshine. A lot.”
“Why?” Aurelia blurts out with a mixture of surprise and disbelief as if she doesn’t think there’s anything about her worth loving.
“Because you’ll never stop fighting. You won’t give up like I did.”
She’s frowning, and I wonder if I said the wrong thing until she blushes and tries to play it off by grabbing one of the coffee tumblers and handing it to me.
“Thank you, Sunshine.” I lean down to kiss her but pause, just shy of touching her lips, to make sure it’s okay. When she gives a small nod, I smile through the kiss before pulling away. “You take such good care of us.”
She looks torn about the praise before settling on, “Thanks.”
“Goldilocks,” Khalil calls. She looks past me toward him, and I press a hand to her hip to let her know that I’m here. I won’t let them hurt her.
She doesn’t do more than flick her gaze toward me and back to Khalil. “Yes?”
“We’ll be back for dinner early, and we’ll be hungry. I prefer not to have a repeat of last night because you’re out of chances. Stay inside and make yourself useful. Understand?”
By some fucking miracle, I stay where I am instead of flying across the kitchen to rip out his entrails and lay them at my girlfriend’s feet.
Girlfriend.
Fuck, that feels good to say.
Aurelia George is my girlfriend. My first…and my only.
“Yes,” Aurelia answers softly. She grabs the other two travel mugs and steps away from me to give them to Thorin and Khalil. “I understand.”
AURELIA
I stalk my mountain men—or rather their footprints—across the small clearing and into the woods. Grabbing Harrison’s coat, Cassie’s scarf, my boots, and the hat and goggles Seth gave me from under the den’s couch cushions where I’d stashed them cost me precious minutes, but the snow, for once, is my ally.
Following them out here is in direct opposition to my promise to behave and the more sensible plan of biding my time, shoring my strength, and gathering supplies.
But that was before Thorin had mentioned a camp.
Now that I know the men holding me captive are the very ones tasked with rescuing me, my gut tells me that I need to find that camp if I want to go home.